Line trimmers for cutting grass and the like utilizing flexible cutting filaments rotating at high speeds are widely known. Typical line trimmers include a long, handled shaft having a rotating cutting head at the free end thereof driven by an associated motor. During use, the motor rapidly rotates the cutting head whose outwardly extending filaments may be maneuvered by a user to cut grass to any desired length. Such machines are particularly useful for trimming in areas difficult to access with a standard lawnmower.
Restoring the length of the cutting filaments as they wear is often a tedious process, however. In some cutting heads, spools of filament material are housed in a casing which must be partially disassembled so that the filament material can be extended therefrom by pulling. Aside from the inconvenience of having to open the casing to access the filament material, tangling of the material therein is common. Even cutting heads having so-called automatic feed mechanisms, are not immune to this latter problem.
In general, the cutting heads heretofore available are relatively complex in their construction, cumbersome to use, and lack versatility because such are adapted for use only with a trimmer having a specific construction. A need, therefore, exists for a rotary cutting head that is easy to use, economical to manufacture, and universally installable on a multiplicity of line trimmers.